Heavyweights Barca, Man U, Juventus Set For Tuesday Champions League Action

The UEFA Champions League is well underway and on Tuesday we continue with the second leg of quarterfinal action. Two games are on the docket featuring some of the biggest names in the sport. Barcelona will face Manchester United at Nou Camp in one game while in the other Italian Serie A side Juventus will host Ajax from the Dutch Eredivisie league. Here are previews of both Champions League quarterfinal games for Tuesday:

BARCELONA VS. MANCHESTER UNITED

Champions League futures odds have Barca installed as the favorite and they’re in good shape here as they return to Nou Camp following a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford last Wednesday. On one hand, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has to be happy with their ability to shut down the Barcelona attack in the first leg. On the other hand, they could have salvaged a tie were it not for Luke Shaw’s own goal early in the game. The victory was Barcelona’s first win at Old Trafford in European Cup competition and Man U did very little to trouble the visitor–Barca goaltender Marc-Andre ter Stegen did not have to make a single save.

The action now heads to Spain where Barcelona have been downright monstrous. They have not lost at home in Champions League play since 2013 for a stretch of 30 games. 27 of those contests were Barcelona wins and they’ve scored two or more goals in 8 of their last 9 Champions league home games. They’re unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions winning 6 of 7 with a 0-0 draw with Huesca this past weekend the only blemish. They have won five straight in all competitions, with 4 of those games seeing Barca score two or more goals.

Manchester United knows they’re in a tough spot but the consolation is that they’ve got a workable margin on the aggregate. It’s definitely an easier situation than in the previous round when they lost the first leg at home to Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 before salvaging the series with a 3-1 road win. Even so, there’s a big class differential between Barca and PSG. The Red Devils have traveled well in Champions League action winning 5 of their last 8 away games in the competition. They’ve also scored in all 4 away games in Champions League play this season.

Now the bad news–Man U has only won 2 of 6 in all competitions with 4 losses. They have lost their last 3 away games allowing 2 or more goals in each. Man U is winless in their four previous trips to the Nou Camp though they have salvaged a draw in the previous two. Of course a draw won’t get the job done here. Barcelona is an overwhelming -1250 favorite to advance and while Manchester United will bring the effort the disparity in talent and experience looks to be too much for them to overcome.

BET BARCELONA -1.5 +104 OVER MANCHESTER UNITED
BET BARCELONA/MANCHESTER UNITED OVER 3,3.5 -103

JUVENTUS VS. AJAX

Juventus earned a 1-1 draw with Ajax last week at Johan Cruijff ArenA and that away goal puts them in the driver’s seat as they return to Turin to host the Eredivisie side at Allianz Stadium. In the first leg, Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Juventus right before halftime but David Neres evened the contest immediately after the break. Like Manchester United in the previous writeup Ajax could be in better shape but they’re in a more favorable position than the previous round where they dropped the first leg at home to Real Madrid before exploding for a 4-1 victory in the second to advance.

Ajax caught a break on the injury front as Frenkie De Jong has been ruled fit for this contest. There was a fear that De Jong would not be available for this contest after he left the Ajax 6-2 win over Excelsior this past weekend with an apparent hamstring injury. De Jong is a crucial component of the Ajax midfield and his availability will prevent Juventus from simply trying to ‘run out the clock’ with their away goal advantage. Ajax is in a real battle in the Eredivisie where they’re tied atop the table with PSV Eidhoven. Juventus has run away with the Serie A title as the lead second place Napoli by 17 points. This could be a factor in favor of the Italian side as their focus won’t be diverted by league play as could Ajax’s.

Ajax has been playing well unbeaten in their last 5 in all competitions and winning 10 of their last 12. They have also won five of their last six away games though they’re winless in six trips to Turin. Juvie has 3 wins in their last 5 at home against Ajax though the last meeting was a scoreless draw in 2010 Europa League play. Juventus has lost 2 of their last Champions League fixtures on their home pitch so their advantage here is not insurmountable. On the other hand, it’s unlikely that Juventus will indulge them with a wide open game as did Real Madrid in the second leg of the previous round. Juventus advances with a 2-0 victory.

BET JUVENTUS -135 OVER AJAX

PARLAY–$100 TO WIN $344
JUVENTUS TO WIN MATCH
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE–NO
TOTAL GOALS OVER 1.5

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